Around the Storage Block
1745863 Members
4363 Online
108723 Solutions
New Article
StorageExperts

Re: Why now is the right time to implement data protection storage

 

HPE_Storage Data Protection-blog.jpgHaving secure data backups in place isn't a luxury—it's a necessity. Here's how businesses can avoid common pitfalls and make sure their backup strategy is suitable for the digital age.

Did you miss World Backup Day on March 31? No worries. Because it's never too late to take a long, hard look at how your organization backs up its data.

Having secure data backups is no longer a luxury. Data privacy regulations and the dramatic rise of cybersecurity threats have made intelligent data protection storage a necessity. But finding the right backup option can be a challenge. To select the best solution, you'll need to understand your data, your systems, and how you can overcome some of the biggest data backup challenges your organization faces.

The challenges of effective data backup

An organization's most valuable currency is its data, and the new data environment is changing how businesses manage that currency. Not only are the ways we process data evolving, but we're also collecting data at record rates. That data is often unstructured, stored in multiple formats and coming from myriad sources. Some of it is valuable intellectual property or sensitive personal information that must be stored securely; some of it is of no value at all.

Data is also being generated in an increasingly hybrid environment. Organizations rely on private and public cloud formats with different levels of control and visibility, and users generate a wealth of data on mobile devices and via the Internet of Things. Business continuity depends on all that data being known and protected.

This complex environment requires new, intelligent approaches to backing up your data. While digital transformation has been effective for moving business productivity and efficiency forward, some organizations have struggled to adapt to new data management needs. They tend to stick with legacy backup systems—which were built for a time when data was structured and siloed—without realizing that these systems compromise the security of their data. Your business needs backup capabilities tailored to the needs of your modern data environment.

Common backup pitfalls to avoid

To avoid falling into the traps presented by ineffective backups, we must understand their most common causes.

  • Ignoring business continuity. Loss of data—or even the loss of the ability to access data—can prevent organizations from conducting business. For example, when the city of Atlanta was hit with a ransomware attack in 2018, government business came to a screeching halt. Modern backup systems need to be considered in the context of business continuity and must be able to recover data immediately so operations can resume.
  • Letting your approach to backup stagnate. Many organizations expect legacy approaches to data backup to keep up with new technology. But what worked a decade ago probably isn't effective today. The amount of data you generate and where that data comes from have changed. Backup strategies must adjust accordingly.
  • Ignoring security. Because data backups are out of sight and out of mind, organizations may not always apply the same level of security they would to their primary infrastructure. But backups must be compliant with data privacy regulations, and the backup environment is just as vulnerable to attack. A data breach of backup data could be devastating to an organization's finances and reputation.
  • Thinking that the backup process is too complex. Some organizations might be tempted to cut corners if a backup system is perceived as cumbersome or if too many steps are needed to configure a backup for a hybrid environment. However, doing so leaves data vulnerable to attack and ransom.

The move to intelligent data protection and storage

Backing up data isn't just about storing it for future emergencies. Intelligent backup solutions—which handle security and scalability and offer instant recovery when needed—can facilitate better data protection and data management practices. Strong intelligent data protection solutions will:

  • Provide a simple interface to minimize human error and maximize protection
  • Automate moving data to the most optimal environment
  • Use predictive analytics to mitigate threats while enhancing recovery and backup
  • Scale costs with usage
  • Accelerate data recovery after a cyberattack

HPE Data Protection Solutions use intelligent data to optimize backup and recovery for modern hybrid environments. It provides flash-integrated recovery, which unites snapshot, replication, and backup services to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. For example, HPE Recovery Manager Central offers end-to-end data protection and rapid recovery, whether your information is stored in a data center or in the cloud, and it boasts recovery times 15 times faster than traditional backup environments.

Hybrid environments require backup systems to collect, store, and protect data from multiple devices, networks, and infrastructures. The backup system you choose should help streamline the challenging process. With HPE StoreOnce technology, you can seamlessly consolidate your data onto a single cloud environment. The data is encrypted and securely stored, allowing your organization to meet data privacy and compliance regulations.

Tape too, for secure, low-cost data content preservation

When considering your complete data protection strategy, keep in mind that disk systems remain online and are potentially vulnerable to an attack. With removable media, such as HPE StoreEver tape storage, an “air-gap” exists between the tape cartridge and computer systems. This means there is no electronic connection to the data on the tape cartridge and, since it is offline, the tape cartridge draws no extra power.

The benefits of more intelligent data protection and backup

With more intelligence built into your data protection and backup solutions, you can better handle the challenges of data management in the digital transformation. And, as a bonus, you'll save money and resources in the process.

Why wait for World Backup Day to roll around again? Start tackling your data backup challenges now. Because it's never too late to improve your data storage, protection, and backup strategies.


Sue Poremba.jpgMeet Around the Storage Block blogger Sue Poremba, security and technology writer. Sue is a freelance writer based in central PA. She's covered cybersecurity and identity theft issues since 2008 with articles appearing in Forbes, Yahoo, NBC, CSO, and CIO, among other publications. She is also the author of several cybersecurity ebooks. In 2017, Onalytica named her in their list of 25 Top Female Cybersecurity Influencers.

 
0 Kudos
About the Author

StorageExperts

Our team of Hewlett Packard Enterprise storage experts helps you to dive deep into relevant infrastructure topics.

Comments

Hi,

Thanks for your article.

I wonder if the big companies (for example social media companies) that handle a huge amount of unstructured data use tape backup or all their backups are on disk. They may not use external disk backup devices but snapshots of the data. The cost of having those huge amounts of data backed up on external disk backup devices may be too high.

Regards.